Wednesday, 23 December 2009

(500) Films of Empire - Day 99

480 - The Son's Room - 2 stars

This Palme D'Or winner deals with a family, in particular the father, dealing with the loss of their son following a tragic accident.

The father is a psychiatrist, able to analyse and help people with their problems, but unable to turn that analysis inward and help himself and his family through the pain and heartbreak.An OK film but this has all been done before and it didn't really do anything new with it. A bit underwhelmed considering the prestige of the big win at Cannes.

35 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day - 4 stars

Funny to think back that the Judgement Day in question was supposedly August 27th 1997. I guess they really did manage to alter history for the better!

When this was released did they even try to keep it a secret that Arnold would be the hero in this one? Might have made for a good reveal if they did. Would have been difficult with Schwarzenegger being the biggest action star in the world and proving to be a hit as the hero in films like Predator and Commando.

Cameron has a habit of making great sequels (T2, Aliens... Piranha 2: Flying Killers?) and T2 outperforms the original in nearly every way.

The action scenes are fantastic and the special effects are groundbreaking, for 1992, but that should be expected from Cameron.

What makes this film really special is the relationship between the young John Connor and the T-800. There is a real heart to the scenes where John tries to teach the Terminator to learn and blend in with humans. Arnold's finest performance without a doubt.

It is a shame that Robert Patrick never really did anything of note after this as he is excellent as the cold, efficient T-1000 killing machine.

Absolutely one of the best sequels of all time but not sure if it really merits being as high as number 35. Hasta La Vista Baby.